Condemned
by CasiNight
Summary: When Danny is ejected from his apartment and doesn't tell Steve, a series of events leads to a very dangerous situation for the Jersey native. BROMANCE! worriedSteve. Dannywhump.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! How's everyone been? I hope well. I've been working a lot, so that's why I haven't been able to write/update a lot.**

 **This story will be 2-3 chapters long and it is all thanks to AinsleyWright! She sent me a story request and it was fantastic!**

 **Thanks, AinsleyWright! I hope you enjoy it!**

 **I hope everyone enjoys it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-O. If I did, there would've been a meaningful conversation between Steve and Danny in the season finale.**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Danny stared down at the piece of paper in his hands. _Great. Just what I needed,_ he thought, reading the words at the top one more time. NOTICE OF FORCED EJECTION DUE TO CONDEMNED BUILDING STATE. Putting the paper down on his counter, he took a deep breath and looked around. Memories of everything that had happened in this place rolled through is head. His daughter running through the rooms as she tried to get ready for her cheer camp, Danny sitting at the table with his head in his hands after learning that Charlie really was his son, of his team sitting at the table with drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces, and of Steve making himself at home on Danny's couch at all hours of the day and night. _How am I going to tell Gracie? How is she going to understand?_ He finally had a home and now he was losing it again. His cheeks started to turn red at the thought of what his team-mates would say. _No. They won't know. I'm not going to tell them._

Going to his couch, he rested his elbows on his knees and let his hands dangle. He dropped his head and allowed himself to just sit there and breathe for a few minutes. _This was my last hope. I can't afford any of the other apartments on the island. Not on a cops salary. I could ask for a pay raise? I'm sure Steve . . . No. That would involve telling Steve. And Steve won't know. I'll get a second job._

Danny nodded, stood from the couch, and retrieved his computer from the counter where it normally sat. He opened up the search engine and first searched for a cheap storage facility. The storage space would be used to store his furniture and most of his clothes. The rest of his stuff would have to go in the trunk of his car. He'd be sleeping in the backseat of his car. He quickly found a storage unit that was cheap enough that paying the rent for it wouldn't be hard. Next, he searched for companies that were hiring night watchmen. It had to be a night position so that the other members of the team didn't get suspicious. _But Grace._ The thought pulled him from his search and made his fingers freeze in mid-air over the keyboard. Getting a night position would keep him from being able to watch his daughter. _I can't keep her if I don't have an apartment. Who knows how long I'll be sleeping in my car. I'll never put her in that position. I can't let her know that her Danno is sleeping in the backseat of his car because he can't afford a proper place. She can't know either. I'll just have to wait to see her until I have enough money to rent a new apartment._ Danny nodded and went back to typing, ignoring the tear that fell on his keyboard. Life was about to get a whole lot harder.

* * *

Steve noticed the changes gradually. Danny's shirts were more wrinkled than usual, his hair a little messier than normal. Then the dark bags under his eyes appeared and his coffee addiction went through the roof. Now he was drinking 5 or 6 cups a day as opposed to his normal 2. He started to smile less and his diet became atrocious. He never packed his lunch and his morning coffee was always the disgusting tarry slop they had in the office as opposed to his favored home brew. That and the Camaro started to accumulate more trash than normal, at least when Danny forgot to empty it. Steve sometimes caught him throwing handfuls of trash away in the morning on his way in. At first, Steve thought it was nothing, until they finished their case. It was a tough one, full of twists and turns and uncomfortable suspects. Danny's temper started to increase and Steve had to hold his partner back – literally – on several occasions over the course of the case.

After it was finished, Steve went to Danny's office, noticing that his partner was still there . . . at 8 o'clock at night. In the past week and a half, Steve had never seen Danny leave the office before him, and he hadn't left most nights until at least 9 o'clock. And Danny was always here in the morning before Steve and Steve normally arrived at 8 o'clock sharp. But Danny was still here. Pursing his lips, Steve walked over to the Danny's office and walked in without knocking, proceeding to make himself at home on Danny's office couch. It was a test . . . and Danny failed it.

Normal Danny would have looked at him and started to rant about personal property and personal space and how it was rude to just walk into someone's office and how he should knock and would then proceed to call him a Neanderthal Animal. This tired Danny didn't do that. This Danny just looked up at him and then looked at the couch and said, "Hey, Steve. Something I can help you with?"

Steve was shocked, but he put on his best poker face and tried to hide the fact that the was uncomfortably surprised. "I was just going to invite you over for a beer tonight. I feel like this case has kept us from getting to talk. Honestly, I miss my partner."

There was no quippy comeback or playful jab, simply a scared look for a fraction of a second. The flash was so quick, that Steve almost thought that he imagined it. But then Danny was smiling. "Sorry Steve, no can do. I got Gracie tonight."

Steve shrugged. "So? You know she's always welcome. Bring her along."

Danny nodded. "I would, but you know how it goes. It's Tuesday night. Grace has school tonight. She needs to go to bed so she can get a good job and not end up like us fools."

Warning bells went off in Steve's head at that statement. Danny had always wished better for Grace, but he had never considered himself a fool for being a detective. Danny had always been proud of his job. Before he could speak though, Danny rose from his desk. "I gotta get home to Grace. She may need help on her homework. The girl can solve high level math equations, but her civics grade is deplorable," Danny said, smiling. "Maybe over the weekend, Steve."

Danny tried to pass the ex-Navy SEAL on his way to the door, but Steve stopped him with a single strong hand on Danny's arm. Danny stopped and looked up at the taller man, feeling uncomfortable as Steve analyzed him. Steve's green eyes seemed to cut right through him like they always did. The way they looked at Danny, with only warmth and worry, made Danny feel bad for lying and almost made him spill the truth all over the floor. But he didn't. He held his tongue and waited for Steve to speak.

Steve said the silent war in Danny's eyes and saw the urge to remain silent inevitably win, so he simply said, "Goodnight, Danny," before letting go of Danny's arm.

Danny, for his part, hung his head as he quickly left the office, leaving his best friend standing alone in his office.

Steve sat back down on the couch and tried not to feel hurt and betrayed. But inside, there was a kid who had been abandoned by his mother and that kid was hurt. Setting his jaw, he shrugged and turned off the light in Danny's office before heading back to his own.

* * *

Danny woke up to the alarm on his phone blaring _Livin' on a Prayer_ by Bon Jovi. The phone was set to wake him up with the local radio station, so the irony was simply hilarious. Sitting up, he banged his head on the roof of the Camaro. Rubbing his sore cranium, he looked around and realized that he was still sleeping in the backseat of his car. Every night, he dreamed that he was in an apartment with an actual couch and an actual bed and an actual shower.

Shaking the cobwebs of the dream away, he got out of the back-seat and went around to his trunk to grab a new pair of clothes.

As always, the employee showers were empty at 6 o'clock in the morning and he had no trouble finding an empty shower. The warm water helped to ease his cramped muscles and he tried to scrub the fatigue away, but that proved to be more stubborn than the dirt from his jobs. His second job proved to be much like his current one. He showed up at 11 o'clock P.M. and patrolled the tech company's building to make sure that there was no one trying to break in and steal "important software files". Then, at 3 o'clock A.M., he went back to his car and drove to a secluded spot in city hall's parking lot so no one important would see Detective Danny Williams of Five-O sleeping in his trunk. Then, at 6, he woke up to take a shower and eat a protein bar out of his trunk before driving around to the front and parking in his normal spot. Then the day began all over again. He liked to think that he was getting used to the routine of sleeping for 3 hours before waking up again, but, if he was being honest with himself, he was exhausted.

* * *

Danny finished toweling his hair and tried to style it with his fingers, but he was too tired to care, so it came out as disheveled at it had been for the past week and a half. He pulled a chocolate chip bar protein bar out of his trunk and deposited his dirty clothes before making his way around to the driver's side. He moved the car and was halfway up the steps of city hall before he managed to choke down the tasteless bar. After enough of the things, he couldn't even taste them. Throwing the wrapper in the trash, he entered the Five-O office and made a bee-line for the coffee pot. He set a fresh one on to brew and leaned heavily against the counter, allowing his eyes to close as the smell of fresh coffee filled the air.

"Good morning, Danny!"

The loud call startled the detective so badly, he jumped and spun around, his hand darting towards his gun.

"Woah there, Sundance. Take it easy. Didn't mean to scare you," Lou Grover said as he entered the office.

Danny relaxed and gave a forced laugh before turning back around and grabbing for the coffee. He needed it pretty bad, apparently. "Sorry about that, Lou. I'm a little jumpy this morning. I didn't sleep real well last night."

"Did you have Grace?" Lou asked, pulling down a large mug for himself.

Danny nodded and took a swig of the burning hot liquid. It scorched his tongue, but the pain helped to wake him up. "Yeah. She had a rough day yesterday, so there was a lot of girl drama. She wanted to talk. I didn't sleep well after that."

"I understand that one. Teenagers are the best, aren't they?" Lou said, eyeing Danny. Something was off.

Danny squirmed under the observation and made an excuse to escape. He didn't really know what it was, but he needed to get to the safety of his office. His team was starting to notice. _I have to pull back. Can't let them know._

* * *

Steve sat at his desk, trying desperately to work, but his mind kept going to Danny. Something was definitely up, but he hadn't been able to find out what. Now, it was 9 o'clock at night, Danny had left the office, and Steve was left alone with his thoughts of what could be bothering his partner. Nightmarish thoughts about what kind of horrors could be coming back to haunt his partner for his actions to avenge his brother kept on coming back to Steve in both his waking and sleeping thoughts. _What if someone's coming after him? What if it's worse? What if someone's threatened Gracie? What if . . . what if . . . what if-_

RINGGGGG!

Steve jumped in his seat when his cell phone rang from its resting position on the desk next to him. A caller ID that he wasn't expecting appeared on the screen and he picked it up without another moment's hesitation. "McGarrett."

"Steve, it's Rachel."

"Good evening, Rachel. Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. I was hoping that you could answer that."

Steve's mind raced to a halt and he was instantly prepared for the worst. "What do you mean, Rachel?"

"Danny hasn't taken Grace in a little over a week now. He says that they are working on a really rough case, but I haven't heard anything on the news. Needless to say, Grace is starting to get very upset."

"What do you mean Danny hasn't taken Grace in over a week? He just had her yesterday?" Steve asked, slowly standing from his chair to pace his office.

"I don't know what Danny told you, Steve, but it obviously wasn't the truth. Here." There was a pause on the line before Grace's voice came over the phone. "Uncle Steve?"

"Hey kiddo! How've you been?"

"Alright," she replied. She sounded upset and tired. She also sounded confused, though. Steve felt a pang of anger towards his partner for doing this to his beautiful daughter. "What's going on with Danno?"

"I don't know, Gracie," Steve said, packing his pockets with his keys and wallet before turning off the light in his office and heading towards the stairs. "But I'm gonna find out. Tonight."

"Really, Uncle Steve?!" Her voice lifted by a few octaves and he could practically hear her smiling.

"Absolutely. So you hold tight. As soon as I find Danny, I'm gonna give you a call."

"Thank you, Uncle Steve. Please help Danno. We know him. He wouldn't do something like this unless something was wrong."

Steve nodded and said, "I promise, Gracie. I'm gonna get him back. He's gonna be ok. Now go study civics!"

Grace laughed and said her goodnight before hanging up.

Steve shoved his phone down into his pocket and stormed angrily down the stairs, cursing on his way to his car. "Damn you, Danny."

He made it to Danny's condo in record time and took the stairs two at a time. By the time he got to the door, he was so angry he was about to break the door down . . . until he saw the sign on the wood. TENANTS EJECTED DUE TO UNSAFE LIVING CONDITIONS.

Suddenly, all his anger dissipated and he used his key to let himself in. He hadn't gotten it from the management, so why would they come looking for it. The apartment was empty. Everything that had been Danny's was gone and it looked to have been empty for several days now . . . maybe over a week. "Danny. I'm so sorry."

He left the apartment and pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialing the first number on his speed dial. It rang before going to voicemail and Steve hesitated before saying, "Danny. It's me. I know, man. Call me back."

* * *

 **How was it? Did everyone enjoy it? I hope so. Please tell me with a review! I'm going on vacation tomorrow, so I don't know when I'll get the chance to update, but I wanted to at least get this out.**

 **Thanks! Have a great week!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait. I've been having to work basically every single day and today was the first day off that I have had in a long time. So, today I didn't leave my house and wrote this. :)**

 **I hope everyone is doing well and thank you for hanging with me. I hope that this chapter is enough to make up for the long wait.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-O. If I did, the final episode would have ended with them saying something bromantic instead of bickering.**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Steve didn't know what to do.

He had to find Danny; that much he was sure about, but he didn't want to tell the rest of the team. Danny was obviously embarrassed about the fact that he had been kicked out of his home, so he tried to hide it from the team. _He tried to hide it from you._ Steve shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts. He didn't have time for the petty game of "I thought I was your friend". He needed to find Danny. But how?

A thought suddenly occurred and he pulled a U-turn in the middle of the road. There wasn't anyone else on the road, so he wasn't worried about inconveniencing anyone else. It was midnight on the island and everyone was asleep, just like he and Danny should be.

It didn't take very long for Steve to get home and he immediately went to his trash can to pull out all the newspapers that he could find. He hadn't had time to take the trash out with the case that the team had been working, so the newspapers went back to the beginning of the case, which had started over a week ago. The papers were stained with coffee grounds, but he hadn't eaten much food at home so that was thankfully pretty much it. Pulling them all out, he placed them on the table.

The HELP WANTED ads was what he was looking for. Knowing his Jersey-Native partner, Danny had probably scoured the ads for a job instead of asking around. He wanted to keep it on the down low. Steve read through the ads and then went back and studied the columns before finding what he was looking for. A help wanted ad for a night watchman position. It appeared in the paper on one day, and not the next, meaning someone took the position. Steve would bet good money that his partner was the one to take the position.

Typing the address into his phone, Steve ran back out to his car and drove to the building listed in the paper. It was a small tech company, which Steve found quiet ironic. A tech company advertising a position in the newspaper. Something about that was just comical.

Steve parked his truck a block away and walked the rest of the way to his destination and hid across the street. Parked in the lot outside of the building was a black Camaro.

Steve smiled a weary smile for finding his partner and searched the area for a higher vantage point. He eventually found one in the business building across the street. Flashing his badge at the guard inside, he went up a few levels and parked himself in a rolling chair next to the window.

The tech company was like all modern tech companies, all glass and very easy to look into. Glass ceilings and glass walls did not make for a very secure fortress. Inside the building though, was a lone figure slowly walking the halls. A flashlight occasionally shone in a corner and Steve could just catch a glimpse of blonde hair in the dim lighting of the street lamps outside. Danny's walk was definitely off. Instead of the normally confidant stride of his short Italian partner, he was instead getting an unsteady swagger that told the tale of how exhausted his partner really was.

Steve reclined in his chair and put his feet up on the desk next to him, getting comfortable for his long vigil. As long as he knew that Danny was awake, there was just something wrong with sleeping.

"Don't worry, babe. I'm not going anywhere," Steve whispered to the darkness.

* * *

Danny slowly walked up the steps to the Five-O offices, trying to open a protein bar on his way up the steps. It shouldn't be as hard as it was, but his hands were shaking and that was making it very difficult to open the stubborn plastic wrapper. A voice across the office called his name and Danny was so startled that he dropped the bar on the floor. A tall brunet crossed the space and passed him a brown bag and a cup of coffee from a trendy breakfast stop that was relatively inexpensive. The mountain then bent down and picked up the protein bar and threw it in the nearby garbage can. "Those things will kill you, Danny. Try this instead."

It took a moment for Danny's sleep deprived brain to catch up with what was happening. "Steve? What are you doing here this early?"

Steve cocked his head and looked at his short friend. "Had some paperwork to do and decided to grab some breakfast on the way in. Thought you might enjoy some actual food. Don't worry about paying me back, by the way. Wanna hang on my couch while I work on some paperwork?"

Danny didn't so much answer as instead simply follow Steve into his office and practically fall on the couch while Steve went to his desk. He carefully put the heavenly smelling coffee on the floor and reached into the bag, pulling out a sandwich wrapped in wax paper. It had a perfectly cooked egg on it with a thick slice of ham and some cuts of avocado on it, all pressed between a lightly toasted English Muffin. Danny carefully took a bite and internally purred with how good it tasted.

"They're pretty good, right?" Steve asked, taking a bite of his and washing it down with some coffee.

Danny blushed. Apparently, the purr hadn't just been in his head. "It's amazing, Steve. Thank you."

Steve nodded and sat back in his chair. "You're welcome, buddy. I noticed the there was a startling amount of protein bar wrappers piling up in the trash and figured that you may need some proper breakfast. What happened? Stove break and your toaster run away?" Steve asked the question in a playful tone, but he had ulterior motives. He was going to see if his partner would bring up the truth himself. He wasn't going to push the detective.

The reaction was physical. Danny shrunk back and immediately tried to hide the fact he had flinched with a false smile. "No. Nothing happened, but Grace has just been really busy and needs to get moving very quickly. Most mornings, I'm so focused on getting her out that I forget to eat."

Steve nodded and acted like nothing was wrong. His partner had lied. Again. _This is going to be harder than I thought._

Danny took another bite of his sandwich and picked up his coffee, swallowing everything down before looking at his partner. "What paperwork did you have to do?"

Steve shrugged. "Oh, you know, the normal stuff that the governor demands. It seems like he is always asking for mission reports and team evaluations. But I guess that is to be expected of the GOVERNOR'S TASK-FORCE." Steve laughed and was happy when Danny joined him, laughing and smiling the first genuine smile he'd seen in the past week and a half.

Danny finished his sandwich and relaxed into the couch, cradling his coffee in his hands. The caffeine was helping to steady the shaking appendages and his mind was sharpening as the food kicked in and his blood sugar balanced. He was still exhausted and he felt like he could fall asleep in the familiar presence of his partner. "I thought you would love debriefs. They're very action movie-ish. I thought they would make you feel just that much more like Rambo."

Steve typed something on his computer while saying, "Rambo was only really shown blowing stuff up. They didn't really go into the politics of after he blew a bunch of stuff up."

Danny nodded. "There would be a lot of paperwork."

Steve smiled and continued typing, actually doing what he had told Danny he would be doing. The fact that he had to do it at 7 o'clock in the morning was a lie, but he had to see his partner.

Steve had spent his night above the building where Danny was working and had watched him until 3 o'clock in the morning, which was the time when Danny left. Based upon when Danny had been into work all last week, Steve went straight to the office and caught an hour of sleep on the very couch that Danny was sitting on. Then, he had changed into a pair of clothes that he kept in his desk and cleaned himself up in the bathroom sink. That left just enough time for him to run out, getting two sandwiches and two coffees and arriving back at the office in time to be waiting for Danny when he came up the stairs. Just like he had been expecting, Danny had been trying to tear into a tasteless protein bar.

The shorter man looked just as bad this morning as he did all the previous week. Dark bags hung under his eyes and his hair was not in it's perfectly coiffed state like it should have been. There was a certain heaviness to his shoulders that made Steve uncomfortable, like the weight of the world was pulling him down. His eyes also looked more stressed and his voice was gravely from the many cups of coffee that he drank a day.

Steve had no doubt that, if Danny continued on the path he was currently on, his best friend would eventually work himself to death.

Pushing his laptop to the side, Steve leaned over his desk and looked intently at his partner. "Danny, are you ok? Is everything alright?"

Steve watched the battle that occurred in Danny's eyes as his pride battled his need to reach out to someone. _Come on, babe._

Danny wanted to tell him. He wanted to crumble so bad that it felt like a hand was squeezing his heart and lungs at the same time. He was unable to breath and he wanted to go to his friend, but there was that voice in the back of his mind. _Steve doesn't need your problems, too. He's got problems all of his own. Don't bother him. Just deal with it._ Finally, he managed to choke out, "Yeah. Everything's fine." Rising from the couch, he raised his coffee in Steve's direction and turned towards the door, muttering, "Thanks for the breakfast, Steve. I've gotta get to work."

"Danny!"

Danny froze and slowly turned around, looking at Steve who at some point had risen up from his position seated at his desk.

"Did . . . Did you get my voicemail from last night?" Steve asked, hands gripping the edge of his desk.

Danny looked at the floor as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Taking a few steps forward, he dropped the broken object on the desk. "It fell off the counter last night and broke when it hit the floor. I haven't had a chance to take it in and get it fixed, yet. What was the message about?"

Steve stared at the broken object and sighed, knowing that the story Danny had just given was another lie. Danny's phone did not fall off the counter, seeing as how he no longer had a counter. It had probably broken during his rounds last night. _So he doesn't know that I know._

"Nothing, really. I just saw something on TV and was going to ask you about it. I don't even remember what the question was. Don't worry about it." Steve flashed Danny a smile and watched as he partner walked towards the door again.

As Danny left his office, Steve had to restrain himself from running after his partner and blowing the whole situation wide open. He wanted to tell Danny that he knew. He wanted to yell at Danny for being such a fool and treating himself so deplorably. He wanted to hug Danny and tell him that everything would be ok and that he didn't have to do this alone. But he didn't do any of those things. Instead, he sat back down and went back to his debriefing for the Governor.

* * *

Danny walked around the corner of the tech company . . . again, swinging his flashlight into the corners. His day with Five-O had been rather slow and was mainly focused on catching up on some much needed paperwork. Nobody seemed to notice the naps that he kept taking in front of his computer. He couldn't help it; he simply dozed off while typing up his reports. His morning with Steve had been rather odd, though. He had been wondering all day what it was about, and the message that Steve had mentioned only seemed to make the whole situation even more ominous. But he still hadn't had the time to get his phone repaired, so he had no idea what the message may have been about.

Turning another corner, his flashlight hit a window just as it shattered. Shards of glass rained down and Danny dropped the flashlight as he instinctively reached up to protect himself from the falling pieces. His next action was to reach for his weapon just as another sound rang out. Before he could react, something solid punched through his shoulder, spinning him around and causing him to slip on the glass. Shouts came from beyond the now broken window and Danny pulled his weapon from the floor, firing in the direction of the noise. "Five-O! Freeze!" More shouts rang out as the alarms in the building rang out. They had finally detected the lack of a wall and were screaming out for help. Danny knew that this meant that a call was being placed to the HPD, which was a good thing since his phone was broken.

Scrambling up from the ground, Danny stumbled to the broken window and listened, but all that he could hear was the sound of car doors slamming and screeching tires. He tried to look through the darkness and see if he could catch a glimpse of the would-be robbers, but there was something very wrong. His hands were shaking uncontrollably now and his vision was swimming. He couldn't seem to stand up straight and he had just enough time to engage the safety on his gun before it fell to the floor. He soon followed.

* * *

Steve was trying to do work at his desk, but his mind just kept on drifting back to his partner and the predicament that the Jersey-native had found himself in. Closing his laptop in frustration, Steve leant back in his chair and scrubbed his hands down his unshaved face. The stubble had been growing more pronounced all day and he hoped that the rest of the team had not realized it, since they had all worked in their separate offices for most of the day. He would try and shave as soon as he got home, but he had never made it there last night.

His cell phone, which was sitting beside his laptop, started to ring and he glanced at the caller ID. He knew it wouldn't be Danny, since he hadn't left his desk until 9 o'clock and so hadn't gotten an opportunity to get his cell fixed. He only left his desk to peek into Steve's and say goodnight. Steve knew the truth though. Danny wouldn't be getting a good night's sleep. He'd be working again. And because of the worry that was now consuming the ex-Navy SEAL for his short friend, he wouldn't be getting a good night's sleep, either.

The caller ID that appeared on the screen belonged to Duke, though, so Steve answered and let out a weary, "McGarrett."

"Steve. There was an attempted robbery. It's Danny . . ."

Duke didn't have to say any more, as Steve was already out of his office and running down the stairs. "Duke, I'm on my way. Which hospital did they take him to?"

 _Please, God. Let it be a hospital._

* * *

 **How was it? Was it alright? Please tell me with a review! I lost my muse for a little bit, but I just went back and re-read the prompt (THANKS AGAIN TO THE LOVELY AINSLEYWRIGHT FOR THIS AMAZING STORY IDEA) and what I had already written and everything was all good again!**

 **Thank you, everyone! Have a lovely weekend!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello beautiful readers! I hope everyone is doing well. I got some time to write and update today, due to the fact that I had to have surgery and all I'm doing now is sitting around watching TV, but no worries. It's given me the time to update this story. I apologize for the time it's taken. School is ramping up and I am still working, so I've been pretty busy.**

 **This chapter is more about the bond between Steve and Danny and I hoped I was able to adequately capture it. I had an idea of what I was doing, but I didn't want it to be too corny. I do hope that I succeeded.**

 **Please let me know what you think with a review at the end.**

 **Disclaimer: there is some language in this chapter. Nothing too horrible in my book and I tried to not make it anything they would say in the show, but I just wanted to warn everyone. Also, I do not own Hawaii Five-O. If I did, an episode would not go by without a Steve and Danny moment.**

 **Once again, a huge thank you to AinsleyWright, the beautiful person behind this story! Thanks again!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

Steve McGarrett threw his truck into park and yanked the keys from the ignition, jumping out and running towards the doors of the hospital that Duke had named. It was of course Tripler Army Medical Center, the preferred hospital for all the Five-O members. Shortly after Duke's phone call Steve had received another call from the hospital itself, calling Steve because he was listed as Danny's emergency medical contact. "Detective Williams has been shot. We need you to come to the hospital."

Those words had almost caused Steve to crash his truck. When a doctor said that you were needed at the hospital, bad things had happened. _Complications._ That was the word they liked to use. Complications meant that Danny could be severely injured, dying, or dead. _God, please don't be dead._

Running up to the nurse at the desk, Steve couldn't seem to get his words out quick enough. "My name is Steve McGarrett. I was called about my partner, Danny Williams?"

The nurse looked at him and realization lit up her face. "Commander McGarrett. Of course. Doctor Hanson is waiting for you. I'll call him out." She picked up a phone and spoke into it quietly for a moment while Steve waited impatiently. Turning back to him after she hung up the phone, she gestured to the doors at the end of the hall. "Doctor Hanson said that he will meet you at your partner's room. He said there was really no point in trying to make you wait out here." She smiled sympathetically at him and Steve's stomach clenched. _Oh God, Danno. What have you done?_

Going down the gestured hall, Steve walked until he got to the intensive care unit's nurses desk. "I'm looking for Danny Williams' room?"

A voice spoke up before the nurse could respond. "Commander McGarrett." A man in a white lab coat walked up and extended his hand. "My name is Doctor Hanson. We must really stop meeting under these circumstances."

Steve shook the man's hand, smiling politely. "Good to see you again, Doctor. But I must agree. The circumstances could be more desirable." Steve remembered the doctor from the other times Five-O members had been in the hospital. He was a good doctor and a good man, around the age of 55. His hair was gray and his green eyes were hidden behind wire frames. He always treated the team well.

The man smiled a sad smile and started to lead Steve to the end of the hall. "Detective Williams came to us with a bullet wound to the shoulder and extensive cuts and bruising. The cuts appear to have come from glass shards and some shards were even imbedded in the wounds. We were able to remove the shards and the bullet. The bullet had some complications. It was a hollow tipped bullet, so it caused some more severe damage than a normal bullet would and blood loss and shock further complicated the detective's prior condition."

Steve stopped him there. "What do you mean prior condition?"

Doctor Hanson sighed and adjusted his glasses. "The detective is underweight, malnourished, and suffering from exhaustion. These factors further complicated his injury and sent him into severe shock. The shock, in turn, affected his breathing and heart rate. We're closely monitoring him now and we hope that he'll stabilize."

Steve nodded his head in understanding and looked sadly at the doctor. "He'll make it, though, won't he doc?"

Doctor Hanson nodded. "Barring any other complications, like infection, the detective should recover, albeit slowly. He'll need a lot of support."

"No worries there, doc. Danny won't be alone."

The doctor nodded and gestured towards the room that they were standing outside of. "Detective Williams is in there. Try to keep him calm."

"I will. Thank you, doc." Steve said, shaking the man's hand one more time. With that, Doctor Hanson headed back down the hall, leaving Steve standing alone outside of his wounded partner's room. Guilt was eating away at Steve. If he had confronted Danny instead of letting him come around and tell him, none of this would have happened. Danny wouldn't be in that bed right now with a hole in his shoulder and a body covered in bruises.

Taking a deep breath, Steve entered the room and took a look at his partner.

Danny looked small in his hospital bed. Small and sick. Several lines were running out of his arms and a nasal cannula was feeding oxygen to him. His left arm was immobilized in a sling that was secured around his rib cage, as well as over his shoulder, and his neck and arms were littered with small scratches. Dark bags hung under Danny's eyes and the sleep that he was experiencing was probably the deepest he'd had all week.

Which was why Steve didn't wake him. He simply sat in the chair next to Danny's bed and watched his partner breath. _It's the little things in life to be truly thankful for._ Steve smiled at his thought. Yes. Danny was a little thing to be thankful for in life. Little in height, massive in personality.

* * *

Steve looked up from his scrutinization of Danny's breathing as a nurse poked her head in. Steve put a finger up to his lips and gestured that he would join her outside. He didn't want to risk waking his partner. Steve had been there for about two hours now and the Jersey-Native had been sleeping peacefully. He didn't want to ruin that. Standing, he snuck out into the hall and looked down at the petite nurse.

"Sorry to bother you, Commander, but they demanded to see Detective Williams," she said, gesturing behind her.

Steve looked down the hall and saw two men standing at the nurses' station. They were wearing jeans, button up shirts, and one of them was wearing thick rimmed glasses.

Steve nodded and smiled down at the nurse. "Thank you. I'll handle it."

Walking towards the men, he was immediately met with indignant looks. "Who are you? We asked to talk to Mr. Williams."

Steve bristled. "That's Detective Williams. And sorry, but he's sleeping. I'm Commander Steve McGarrett, his partner."

One of the men looked up innocently. "Oh. Sorry. We weren't aware that the Mr. – I mean Detective Williams was married."

Steve had to suppress a mischievous smile and shook his head. "He's not. We work together at Five-O."

The two men nodded with simultaneous, "Ohhhs."

The first one, the one that Steve was starting to really dislike based upon his rude and pretentious attitude, spoke again and said, "Can you wake _Detective_ Williams up so that we can speak to him. We need to talk about some things, like what the thieves were there to steal."

Steve crossed his arms and planted his feet. "Sorry, but no. I'm not going to wake him. You're free to come back later."

The man pushed his glasses up his nose and took a step towards Steve, entering what Danny called "his bubble". "Listen here," he began, his voice starting to rise in volume, " _Detective_ Williams is our employee and as such, we have certain rights. Now, he is responsible for a broken wall that now has to be repaired. There are also police crawling all over the premise and the floor will probably have to be replaced because it is damaged and stained as well. Now, unless you want me to sue you and _Detective_ Williams, you're going to go wake him up and let us talk to him!"

Steve couldn't exactly nail down what it was that made him snap. Maybe it was the way that he kept on saying _Detective_ with a mocking, sarcastic tone. Maybe it was the way that he referred to the floor as being stained, never mind that it was stained with Danny's blood because he had protected their precious product. Or maybe it was simply because this man had the balls to threaten him and his wounded partner. Whatever it was, it made Steve grab the son of a bitch by the collars of his shirt and lift him a solid foot up off the ground and slam him against the wall. The nurse behind him was calling for security, but Steve didn't hear her. He was focused on the terrified eyes of the man in his hands.

"First off, threaten my partner again and I'll give you something to sue me over. Secondly, your floor is stained with my partner's blood, so be a little bit more respectful and sympathetic. Thirdly, you've worked him practically to exhaustion. So no, I will not be waking him up. Lastly, if you shout and wake up my partner, I will allow you to trade places with him and you will sleep for awhile. Understood?"

The small man nodded and had the decency to look contrite.

"Good." Steve dropped him to the floor and took a step back, waving at the security guards to signify that everything was okay. Making up his mind, Steve looked at the kinder of the two men and said, "Also, consider this Danny's resignation. He'll no longer be working at your establishment. I'll have him call you if he saw anything about the men who tried to rob you. My team will be on it, though, so if you have cameras, there probably isn't any point in bothering Detective Williams any more. Understood?"

The two men nodded.

"Very good. Have a nice day, gentlemen." He waited until they had passed through the ICU swinging doors before he apologized to the nurse, who simply smiled and waved off his apologies.

"No worries. They were rather rude." With that comment, she returned to her work and Steve walked back down the hallway to Danny's room, smiling when he saw that Danny had not been bothered by his dispute with the two business men.

Steve settled himself back down into his chair and continued where he had left off: being happy with the fact that Danny was breathing.

* * *

When Danny finally did wake up, the sky outside had turned dark and the hospital lights had been dimmed. Steve was still seated in his spot, not having moved for the past several hours. It had been about 20 hours since Danny had been admitted to the hospital. Steve was going on three days with only a few hours of sleep, but he simply couldn't fall asleep. Each time his eyes closed, horrible images of Danny in a puddle of his own blood flashed through his mind and made him snap to alertness. So he had just watched and waited. The nurses occasionally had mercy on him and brought him cups of coffee and he'd been texting Kono, Chin, and Grover all day, convincing them not to come to the hospital. He had shared a few details with them, feeling that it was Danny's right to tell them everything if he wanted to.

Danny woke up slowly, the only thing that alerted Steve to the fact that he was waking up was when his hand clenched into a fist.

Standing up, Steve leaned on the rail on the side of Danny's bed and hovered over his partner. "Danny? Can you hear me, babe?"

Weary blue eyes opened and drifted for a moment before locking on Steve's face. "Steve?" Danny's hand unclenched and lazily lifted to pat Steve's chest before Steve locked the cold appendage in his own warm one.

A smile appeared on Steve's face and he held his friend's hand. "Hey, buddy. I've got you." The moment was reminisce of when they were trapped together under the rubble of the parking garage and the relief he felt was much akin to what he had felt then.

Danny's eyes studied Steve's face and a questioning look painted his features. "Are you ok, Steve?"

"You're the one lying in a hospital bed and you ask if I'm okay?" Steve shook his head in wonder. _Classic Danno._

"You look tired." Danny responded in confusion.

Steve nodded. "I am tired, Danny. But trust me when I say that you look worse." Steve lowered his head to his arm, which was still perched on the rail, and prepared himself for what he was going to say next. _I have to say something. This has gone on too long. I need to say something._ Looking up, he looked into his wounded partner's face and saw something that made him stop. _It's not my job to interrogate him. It's not my job to demand answers. It's my job to be there for him. It's my job to be what he needs right now. And right now, he just needs someone._

So, instead of demanding an answer to why Danny had hidden the truth from him, he instead smiled and squeezed his partner's hand, locking Danny's blue eyes with his own green ones and said, "I'm just really glad that you're ok."

Danny smiled and something shifted in his eyes. He relaxed and sank further into the pillow behind him, smiling warmly and genuinely at Steve. At that moment, Steve knew that he had made the right decision. So many times, in their relationship, they demanded answers from the other, and the answers never made anything any better. All the answers did was open a wound and, unfortunately, sometimes the wound became infected. It wasn't just between him and Danny; it happened in almost every relationship. Steve would be more worried if it didn't happen. If it didn't happen, then the relationship would be superficial and fake. What he and Danny had was real. They were partners, they were best friends, and they were brothers. Steve would get the answer eventually, but he didn't need it right now. Right now, he would pull Danny off of his path, let him heal, and, when Danny was healthy and strong again, he would tell Steve what had happened and he would explain to Steve why he had done what he did.

But right now, Steve just needed his partner. Giving his partner's arm a pat, without releasing his grip on his hand, Steve said, "Get some sleep, buddy. I'll be here when you wake up."

"You look like you could do with some shut-eye as well."

Steve winked and slumped down in his chair. Without saying another word, they both drifted off to sleep, hands linked in a brotherly grasp.

* * *

Danny dropped down out of Steve's truck, looking blearily eyed at the ocean front residence that Steve called home. He'd been napping in the car on the way there and the sun pierced his retinas like knives, but he could recognize this place even if he was blind. There was something about it. It filled a space in his chest and calmed all anxiety that he was feeling.

Steve came out from around the other side of the truck to stand next to Danny and smiled. All Danny could think is, _He knows. He has to._ Danny had been in the hospital for about a day when the doctors decided that he would feel more comfortable outside of the sterile walls and scratchy sheets. All he really needed was good food and sleep. Then he'd be right as rain. There was no sign of infection and the wounded muscle in his shoulder was mending nicely. He'd have to have so physical therapy and it would be uncomfortable, simply due to the fact that it had been a hollow tip bullet and the wound was a little larger than normal, but they hadn't seen any reason to confine the detective to a hospital bed for another day. So they'd released him. But on the way home, Steve hadn't asked if Danny needed to pick anything up from his house. That was the first clue. He'd just driven straight to his place. Before they even left the hospital, he'd managed to procure a pair of jeans for Danny and a t-shirt, but Danny didn't know where he'd gotten the clothes. The jeans felt like his, but the shirt was obviously Steve's, based upon the fact that it was at least a size too large. Danny didn't mind, though. The shirt was clean and worn in, so the cotton didn't bother the scratches on his neck.

Steve put a gentle hand on Danny's back and guided him into the house, putting a duffle bag that he had pulled from the backseat of the car by the stairs and heading for the kitchen. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, Danny. I'm gonna get a beer. Want something to drink that's not alcoholic?"

Danny looked down at the floor, analyzing his shoes. These were his too, but the last time he had seen them was when he put them in the trunk with-.

He looked towards the staircase and realized that the bag Steve had put on the floor was actually his bag that he'd packed his clothes in when he'd been evicted. It had been in his trunk . . . Next to the protein bars.

 _He knows._

Moving into the kitchen, Danny leaned against the doorway and said, "I'm sorry."

Steve pulled his head out from the fridge, beer in hand, and looked at his partner, eyes squinting as he sought for a reason for the apology. "For what, babe?"

"For no telling you. I . . . I was so embarrassed. I thought that I could handle it, but," he looked down at his immobilized arm, "I was obviously wrong. I should've trusted you, but . . . you have so many problems of your own. I didn't want to burden you."

Steve shook his head and set the unopened beer down on the counter. "Your problems are my problems, Danny. They have been for 5 year, 11 months, and 21 days. You're always so willing to help people. You're always the first one to offer a sympathetic ear. You just need to learn that that is what I am here for you as well. I'm here for you, Danno. I'm here and I always will be." Gesturing towards the stairs, he said, "Come with me. I got something to show you."

Danny's smile turned to confusion as he followed his partner up the stairs to the guest bedroom and watched as Steve walked in. The Jersey-Native expected to see the room as it had always been, but instead, he was greeted by the sight of the bedroom with some brown, cardboard boxes littering the floor. He recognized his handwriting on the side, marking what was in them, and realized that these were the boxes he had put in his storage unit. "What is this?"

Turning around to look at his confused partner, Steve shrugged. "It can get kind of lonely being here all by myself, so I was hoping that you would consider being my house-mate. Room's yours if you want it. Grace, of course, would always be welcome and we can fix up the room next door for her. It's just holding junk right now, so it would give me an excuse to clean and clear it. All I would ask is that you help with the cleaning and the shopping. Plus, helping with some maintenance around the house and maybe splitting the utilities bills." Danny was staring at him with his mouth open, so Steve felt obligated to add, "I can promise that there are no bed bugs, though, and it's not haunted."

Danny's confusion soon turned to gratitude and he sputtered as he searched for words. "I don't know what to say, Steve."

Steve smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Please say that you're done sleeping in your car."

Danny's smile broadened, if it was possible, and he nodded.

Steve smiled back and clapped his hands together, much as he had done when he learned that Danny had won shared custody of Grace, and walked forward, throwing an arm over Danny's shoulders, being careful not to jostle his partner's wounded shoulder. "Alright, house-mate, let's celebrate. I'll get the grill going, you call Grace and the team."

Danny allowed himself to be led out of the room and looked up at his tall partner, both smiling so broadly that it hurt. "You do realize that this will only make the marriage jokes worse, right?"

* * *

 **How was it? I hope it was alright. Please tell me with a review. Also, you know what the end of this story means? STEVE AND DANNY ROOMMATE STORIES! I'll be brainstorming for awhile, but if anyone wants to send an idea with their review, I will most certainly give it a look!**

 **Thank you to all my readers who stuck with me through this story and left beautiful reviews for the previous chapters. You're all so wonderful!**

 **Thank you, everyone! Stay tuned for more! BYYYEEE!**


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